Monday, April 29, 2013

Large scale mining at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay
watershed could wipe out up to 90 miles of streams in the world’s largest
sockeye salmon fishery, the US Environmental Protection Agency said April 26 in
releasing a revised assessment.

The document said there would be a loss of up to 90 miles of
streams and up to 4,800 acres of wetlands under scenarios for the proposed
Pebble mine prospect.

The report also noted that indirect effects of stream and
wetland losses would include reductions of the quality of downstream habitat
for coho, sockeye and Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and Dolly Varden.

The EPA noted that its revised draft assessment is not an
in-depth assessment of a specific mine, but rather an examination of impacts of
reasonably foreseeable mining activities in the Bristol Bay region, given the
nature of the watershed’s mineral deposits and the requirements for successful
mine development.

The study was initiated at the request of Alaska Native
tribes and others concerned that large-scale mining at the headwaters of the
watershed would adversely impact fisheries habitat, which is critical to the
multi-million dollar commercial fishing and sport and hunting industries, as
well as subsistence users and the region’s abundant wildlife. The watershed
provides habitat for numerous species, including 29 fish species, more than 40
terrestrial mammal species, and more than 190 bird species.

Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay and Trout Unlimited
said they were pleased with the report, while the Pebble Limited Partnership,
calling the revised document flawed and biased and urged the EPA to abandon its
report.

“We are fighting to protect 14,000 American jobs and an
entire industry from a risky proposal to dig the largest open-pit mine in North
American in the heart of the Bristol Bay salmon nursery,” said Bob Waldrop,
executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development
Association.”

“Pebble is far bigger and more threatening to renewable
resource jobs than any other mine proposal in Alaska and it’s planned for the
worst location possible,” said Tim Bristol, director of Trout Unlimited’s
Alaska Program. “Clearly the time for action to protect Bristol Bay under the
Clean Water Act is now.”

John Shively, chief executive officer of the Pebble Limited
Partnership, criticized the EPA for not waiting until the PLP’s detailed mine
plan is available. Shively said the PLP wants the right to submit a permit
application and have its plans reviewed, based on best available science and
relevant federal, state and local laws.

The PLP remains committed to working with the EPA under the
National Environmental policy Act when submitting its mine plan for review, he
said.

The entire revised draft assessment document and details on
how to submit public comment by the May 31 deadline are at www.epa.gov/bristolbay.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

In fact, 2011 was an outstanding season with the highest
landed value – about $148 million – since 1988, according to statistics from
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Oregon Coastal Zone
Management Association (OCZMA). Oregon’s commercial fishermen landed 285
million pounds of fish and shellfish – up from 216 million pounds (valued at
$108 million) in 2010.

The industry’s superlative efforts are backed by a network
of 15 ports, large and small, along Oregon’s 362-mile coastline. They feature
busy harbors that play vital roles by providing a mix of commercial, industrial
and recreational services. Most also provide refuge when the ocean turns
temperamental.

Leaders at the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association
(PNWA) say ports are critical to the economic survival of their communities,
with international trade, commercial fishing and recreational boating “more
important to the economic health of coastal port communities than ever before.”

Commercial fisheries and working waterfronts are essential
sources of jobs and economic growth, according to OCZMA, which conducts studies
of Oregon’s coastal economy and provides information to an extensive network of
government and other agencies, aiming to improve the region’s standard of
living. Fisheries also provide part of the overall ambience folks want to
experience when visiting the Oregon coast or opting to live there. They help
attract artists, writers and others, including a growing number of retirees,
who in turn make their own contributions to an ever-changing diverse economy
and culture. Travelers spend time watching and photographing the fishing
fleets, and visitors often show up at the coast seeking fresh, locally caught
seafood.

Six Oregon ports ranked among the top 27 Pacific fishing
ports in 2010 for landings and landed value, according to statistics from the
Center for the Blue Economy (CBE) at the Monterey Institute of International
Studies and the National Ocean Economic Program (NOEP): Astoria (4th in
landings at 100 million pounds, 5th in value at $30.5 million); Newport (5th at
57 million pounds and 4th at $30.6 million, respectively); Coos Bay-Charleston
(7th in each with 31 million pounds valued at $24 million); Brookings (16th
with 6 million pounds and 21st at $5.2 million); Tillamook (24th with 1 million
pounds and 26th at $2.6 million); and Port Orford (25th in each with 1 million
pounds valued at $3.4 million). Combined landings for those six ports reached
196 million pounds valued at $96.3 million.

Newport and Astoria, two of Oregon’s three deep draft ports,
are prime examples of what ports can do in socioeconomic terms, not only for
their commercial fishing fleets, but coastal communities and the state.

The Newport-Depoe Bay-Toledo connection

About 248 commercial fishing vessels make Oregon’s central
coast their home port – most of them in Newport, with a few each in Depoe Bay
and Toledo, according to information compiled by Fishermen Involved in Natural
Energy FINE), a Newport-based 16-member committee of mostly commercial
fishermen.

“We have at least double that number of commercial fishing
vessels in our county, which represents vessels that are home ported elsewhere,
but spend time fishing off of Lincoln County,” notes Bob Jacobson, a retired
commercial fisherman and Oregon Sea Grant extension agent, who chairs the
committee. “A few of these vessels are distant water vessels that spend most of
their fishing year in Alaska, returning to Lincoln County for maintenance and
repairs, and in some cases, to participate in the Dungeness crab and whiting
fisheries.”

Vessels from British Columbia to central California ply the
waters off Oregon’s central coast, periodically selling their catch in Newport
or occasionally Depoe Bay. Newport-based vessels participating in the crab,
salmon and tuna fisheries sometimes sell their catches in other ports in
Oregon, Washington or California.

“Most of the commercial fishing fleet fish locally and sell
their catch to buyers in the area,” noted Jacobson.

Appointed by the county commissioners in 2007 to focus on
the potential impact of wave energy sites on fisheries, FINE’s members
represent the salmon, albacore tuna, Dungeness crab, pink shrimp, groundfish,
long line and distant water fisheries, charter and sports fishing, and seafood
processors, as well as the small Depoe Bay fleet, and a non-fishing charter
business. The group was forged in the wake of the realization that looming wave
energy interests could threaten commercial fishermen’s livelihoods, opting to
proactively counter what they viewed as the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission’s willy-nilly surge to license wave energy sites. County and Oregon
Sea Grant officials backed the effort, providing administrative support and
acting as liaison between FINE and wave energy researchers and developers.

Jacobson said FINE believes in “an open approach and
cooperation” between fishing communities and wave energy researchers and
developers. It derives from the general attitude of the central coast
commercial fishing industry, which he said “traditionally works very
cooperatively with each other and with outside entities.”

That attitude bodes well for an industry seemingly under
siege from all directions and various sources, including nature itself at
times.

To varying degrees, the ports of Newport, Depoe Bay and
Toledo provide services to commercial vessels of all sizes, ranging from 18
feet to 126 feet long and valued anywhere from $5,000 to $3 million apiece.

Newport Evolving

The Port of Newport features 206 commercial vessel slips, 54
waterway related businesses, and a distant water fleet that annually brings in
between $14 million and $32 million to the local economy.

The port is also home to US Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay
and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Marine
Operations Center-Pacific, which opened in 2011 under a 20-year lease after the
port took on a $38 million project to build the facility. When the 22-month
effort reached what Port General Manager Don Mann called “the transition from
construction to commissioning and operation,” and NOAA signed the initial
20-year lease and took over the facility in July 2011, it marked a major
turning point for a port that celebrated its centennial in 2010. At the time,
Lincoln County Commissioner and long-time commercial fisherman Terry Thompson
said he looked forward to “a new cooperation” between the fishing industry and
the research NOAA’s fleet performs, noting that it was something he had always
hoped to see within his lifetime.

According to an economic impact analysis released by the
Economic Development Alliance (EDA) of Lincoln County, the move could mean as
much as a $32 million influx – the equivalent of 800 full-time family wage jobs
in Lincoln County – within the next decade.

But while local, state, and federal officials focused on the
much-anticipated economic boost, the heart of this project was and is marine
science, research, and education, with Newport – in particular the South Beach
peninsula, where Oregon State University (OSU)’s Hatfield Marine Science Center
(HMSC) and Oregon Coast Aquarium are already located – as a pivot point. They
believe the NOAA facility’s presence could help take South Beach to the next
level, transforming it into an international hub for research and development
on ocean health, which is a key component in climate change. Even without
factoring in the value of attracting additional marine science research, the
impact still eventually pencils out to about $20 million annually in the local
and regional economy, the EDA study noted.

During the competitive lease process, Port of Newport
officials touted the city as having “the best working waterfront on the West
Coast.”

Mann said they continue to work on enhancing the port’s
diversity, without neglecting traditional uses.

Another major project to renovate the port’s international
terminal is expected to wrap up by the end of this year. The 17-acre site
features 1,000 feet of deep draft waterfront, docks and storage facilities, and
several acres of industrial land. Factoring in that project, which port officials
say has already drawn intense interest from timber exporting ventures and
cruise lines, Newport is standing on the cusp of economic prosperity forged
from a diverse mix of traditional and emerging industries.

Commercial fishing remains a viable and visible part of that
mix.

Inland But Vital

Located about an hour’s journey up the Yaquina River, the
Port of Toledo offers moorage for only a few commercial vessels, but its main
contribution is the boatyard at Sturgeon Bend.

Port officials purchased the 20-acre site after a private
owner shut it down in 2008, ending a decade of service to commercial fishermen.
Port Manager Bud Shoemake said they oversee the facility as a public boatyard
operated by private industry under contract with the port. As a result, the
port offers fishermen a do-it-yourself facility with access to “the best
service possible” through its group of preferred and approved independent
contractors. Shoemake calls the open yard a “one-stop shop” for maintenance and
vessel preparation, offering a full range of services, including a 300-ton dry
dock capable of handling vessels up to 100 feet long and 46 feet wide.

Fishermen say they like having the option on the easily
navigable, well-marked Yaquina River.

For years, the tiny bay served as a safe harbor for
commercial vessels taking refuge from storms, and today it acts as home port
for only a handful of commercial vessels, along with a limited number of
charter boats and private launches. Fishermen say navigating the stone entrance
– often referred to as “shooting the hole” – requires strategy and caution.
With an entry less than 50 feet wide and 300 feet long, the harbor managers
require a standard procedure when entering or leaving.

Skippers are asked to go to VHF channel 80 and announce
their intentions. If they get the “all clear,” they know they can safely avoid
disastrous consequences. Most crews know to give one long horn blast on the way
out, two long blasts on the way in. Inbound vessels get priority.

Diverse Capabilities

Located at the northwestern tip of Oregon where the Columbia
River feeds into the Pacific Ocean, the Port of Astoria manages a combination
of commercial and recreational marine, marina, industrial and aviation
facilities, and leases property for industrial and commercial services,
including fish processing plants.

Home to 138 commercial fishing vessels, the port provides
commercial berthing, seafood processing and fleet support. Pier 1 and Pier 2
are its primary deep water piers, with most commercial fishing services offered
at Pier 2, with three fish processors, a 71,800-square-foot multi-tenant
warehouse, fish off-loading and net haul-out areas, and a dock that can
accommodate vessels as long as 1,100 feet. Maintenance, repair, active and
inactive services are available at the Pier 3 haul-out boatyard at Tongue
Point, which features an 88-ton travel lift.

An economic impact study commissioned by port officials in
2009 showed that the port and its tenant generated about $110 million in direct
revenue, including $59 million at the piers and associated upland areas, and
$17 million at the marinas and boatyard. Since 1999, commercial landings at
Astoria have eclipsed 100 million pounds every year except 2008, when it
dropped to 99 million pounds, according to stats compiled by NOEP and CBE.
Fishermen had banner years for overall landings in 2005 (164.7 million pounds),
2006 (164.2 million) and 207 (152.6 million). Landed value, however, has
remained rather steady during that time, ranging from $20.6 million to $32
million.

Port officials said the port would continue to play a key
role in supporting commercial fisheries.

A strategic business plan developed in 2010 focuses first on
enhancing the central waterfront and Tongue Point facilities. Improvements
could include as many as three multi-tenant industrial buildings, cold storage
and cannery facilities, and acquiring a 250- to 300-ton capacity mobile crane
and standby tug service. The business plan noted that Oregon’s commercial
fishing industry “has fared well, especially in comparison to neighboring
Washington and California” and that Astoria would remain “a focal area” for
Oregon’s commercial fisheries.

Alaska’s cod fishery has joined the ranks of seafood
certified as sustainable via an Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute third party
certification program, in a growing competition over who will certify the
state’s fisheries as sustainable.

The Certification for Responsible Fisheries Management,
announced April 22, provides additional value for Alaska cod producers and
processors selling in markets where independent third-party certification is
desired, said Randy Rice, technical director for ASMI.

“Alaska cod joins the other RFM certified fisheries in
Alaska and adds to the growing list of fisheries, such as those from Iceland
and the US Gulf of Mexico that recognize RFM as a credible, independent and
efficient certification,” Rice said.

ASMI announced on April 16 that about 80 percent of Alaska’s
2013 wild salmon harvest would be certified through the same program.

A limited supply of Marine Stewardship Council certified
Alaska salmon may also become available, pending completion of the MSC
assessment process estimated to be finished in July, ASMI said.

ASMI contracted several years ago with Global Trust, an
Ireland-based third party certification program, for these RFM certification
services.

The effort began several years ago when processors of Alaska
seafood became concerned that wild Alaska seafood might lose its distinction of
coming from well-managed, sustainable Alaska fisheries. That concern was prompted by growth of the
Marine Stewardship Council’s sustainable fisheries certification program,
itself a rigorous process, which gives the same stamp of certification to all
fisheries that meet its criteria. According to MSC’s website, there are more
than 11,000 MSC-labeled products on sale around the world, from prepared meats
to fresh fish.

MSC’s website also lists by species where shoppers can buy
seafood that the organization has certified as sustainable. For cod shoppers,
the site lists cod from the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, as
well as cod from several European fisheries.

Alaska salmon was first certified as sustainable by MSC back
in September 2000, and recertified in November 2007, according to the MSC
website.

Since then, said ASMI’s Tyson Fick, a number of suppliers
backed out of that program. The whole
fishery will be certified under the Global Trust’s United Nationals FAO (Food
and Agriculture Organization) based Responsible Fisheries Management Program.
In order to make the certified claim, however, a supplier must have chain of
custody verified as is required by the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries, he said.

A revised scientific assessment of how large-scale mining
could potentially affect water quality and salmon ecosystems in the Bristol Bay
watershed is due out this spring from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The study of the watershed, home of one of the world’s largest salmon
populations, was launched in response to petitions from federally recognized
tribes and others worried about how large-scale mining could impact Bristol Bay
fisheries.

The mining industry, meanwhile, with an eye on the area’s
significant mineral resources, has continued to attack the EPA study. In its
latest bulletin, the Pebble Limited Partnership alleges that the EPA actions
are targeted on the Pebble deposit

through an unlawful reading of section 404c of the Clean Water Act. If
successful, writes PLP chief executive officer John Shively, in the Denver
Business Journal, “the effort by the EPA, fueled by activist groups, to
radically redefine the established permitting process poses a threat to
Colorado’s mining industry and could trigger a regulatory crisis across the
country.”

Four days later, on April 22, the PLP announced an $80
million budget for 2013, for ongoing environmental studies with a focus on fish
habitat and water quality, continued engineering analysis and workforce and
business development initiatives to finalize a project description. The focus
of this year’s work plan is to complete a comprehensive, multi-year development
plan with the goal to initiate permitting before year’s end under the National
Environmental policy Act, the PLP said.

The majority of residents of the Bristol Bay region in
Southwest Alaska are opposed to the mine, as are a number of fisheries
biologists, environmental groups, and others representing commercial, sport and
subsistence fish harvesters.

Their concern is that the mine will adversely affect fish
habitat, which is critical to thousands of people employed in or otherwise
dependent upon these fisheries.

The PLP maintains that it can develop and operate the mine
without doing damage to the watershed.

In a continuing effort to educate people about the
importance of Alaska’s wild salmon, the Renewable Resources Foundation this
week announced that tickets are on sale for Salmonstock 2013, a three-day music
festival at Ninilchik, Alaska, to celebrate Alaska’s wild salmon and the people
who depend on them. Salmonstock, a fund raiser to protect salmon habitat, will
run Aug. 2-4 at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds. Information on Salmonstock is
at www.salmonstock.org.

2014 cover

Founded in 1945, Fishermen's News is the oldest commercial fishing publication on the Pacific Coast, and the only independently owned commercial fishing publication in the market.
We focus on small business issues as they affect the independent commercial fisherman, and are uniquely tailored to the individual commercial vessel owner.
Only Fishermen's News consistently and steadfastly advocates on behalf of these independent commercial fishermen.